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The Smith-Morra gambit system against the Sicilian defence

1st draft: October 1999

"Both are a calculated risk. As you play your gambit, you are projecting all the confidence in the world. You move all your poker chips to the middle of the table when you think you have the best hand." -Ken Smith (Smith-Morra) comparing Poker and chess gambits.

Index

• Abstract
• Starting Position

Black accepts the gambit

• The 5..d6 line 3..dxc3 4 Nxc3 Nc6 5 Nf3 d6 6 Bc4 e6

• Introduction to the 5..e6 line 

  • 3..dxc3 4 Nxc3 Nc6 5 Nf3 e6 6 Bc4 Nge7

  • 3..dxc3 4 Nxc3 Nc6 5 Nf3 e6 6 Bc4 Bb4

  • 3..dxc3 4 Nxc3 Nc6 5 Nf3 e6 6 Bc4 Bc5

  • 3..dxc3 4 Nxc3 Nc6 5 Nf3 e6 6 Bc4 a6

  • 3..dxc3 4 Nxc3 Nc6 5 Nf3 e6 6 Bc4 Nf6 (trap line)

• The 5..g6 Line

Black declines the gambit 

• 3..Nf6 

• 3..d3

Appendices

• Appendix 1 - 2000+ PGN game download 

• Appendix 2 - Gambit name origin

• Appendix 3 - Further reading
  

Abstract

This paper focuses on the Smith-Morra gambit against the highly popular Sicilian defence arising after 1 e4 c5 2 d4 cxd4 3 c3. 

The Morra Smith although not very popular at Grandmaster level, probably because it is thought to be unsound, is still arguably a highly effective weapon at club level chess. It is arguably the most dangerous gambit against the Sicilian defence, with the Wing's gambit (b4) coming second. White can often reach a very comfortable positions, and this technical white paper aims to emphasise this!

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Starting Position

The Smith-Morra is a highly aggressive approach against the Sicilian defence, which has the following practical advantages:-

• It can take the black player by surprise

• It can give White a lasting initiative

• It is fun to play!

• For beginning to intermediate players, playing gambits like this is an excellent way of developing tactics, and attacking skills!

By offering the c pawn, White hopes to develop the Queen's knight rapidly, and generally develop other pieces quickly. 

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The 5..d6 line 3..dxc3 4 Nxc3 Nc6 5 Nf3 d6 6 Bc4 e6 

Proposed White system

Black has a fluid centre, but is more vulnerable now that two centre pawns have been advanced to d6 and e6 respectively. The d6 pawn is particularly vulnerable, and to exploit this, this technical paper recommends the following simple and effective piece arrangement:-

• Play the queen's bishop to f4 to eye the vulnerable d6 pawn 

• Play the Queen to E2

• Play the Kings rook to d1 (eyeing d6)

• Play the queen's rook to c1 

• Drop the bishop back to b3 (like Matulovic does!)

For example, after

1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 d6 6.Bc4 e6 7.Bf4 a6 8.0–0 Be7 9.Qe2 Nf6 10.Rfd1 Qc7 11.Rac1 0–0 

the following comfortable position might be reached:-

In this kind of position, White has got all his pieces developed. The rooks are nicely placed and connected. The bishops are on effective squares. White has annoying pressure on the d file, and there is a potentially annoying e5 advance which black has to worry about.

Matulovic, a great exponent of then "Morra gambit", had a couple of lovely games from the above position which featured a lucky 13th move! (unlucky for the opponent!)

Matulovic - Panotopulas [B21/14]

1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 d6 6.Bc4 e6 7.Bf4 a6 8.0–0 Be7 9.Qe2 Nf6 10.Rfd1 Qc7 11.Rac1 0–0 12.Bb3 Rd8 13.Nd5! 

This temporary piece sacrifice gives White the advantage after the material is regained.

exd5 14.exd5 Bf8 15.dxc6 bxc6 16.Ng5 Rd7 17.Qf3 Bb7 18.Be5 c5 19.Qh3 dxe5 20.Rxd7 Qxd7 21.Bxf7+ Kh8 22.Be6 Qd2 23.Qxh7+ Nxh7 24.Nf7+ Kg8 25.Nxe5+ Kh8 26.Ng6# 1–0

Some of Matulovic's opponents had been blown away trying to play the logical Nc-e5 to prevent White's dangerous e4-e5 threat.

Examples

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Introduction to the  5..e6 line 

Introduction

By playing 5..e6 the Black player is safeguarding the f7 square, and shuts out the influence of the White bishop on c4. Assuming black does not want to transpose into the previously discussed black set up, Black will not be playing d6. Black may instead introduce the interesting plan of Nge7 or B-b4/c5 then Nge7. This avoids having the kind of fluid vulnerable centre that the previous black system had. White does however have interesting resources against this plan!

6th moves considered in this technical white paper:-

A] 6... Nge7
B] 6... Bb4
C] 6... Bc5
D] 6... a6
E] 6... Nf6 (trap line!)

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The 5..e6 line 3..dxc3 4 Nxc3 Nc6 5 Nf3 e6 6 Bc4 Nge7

A] 6... Nge7

Proposed system

This technical paper recommends Bg5 as an response to Nge7.

British Grandmaster Michael Adams had a nice win in this line against Sicilian Dragon "Guru" William Watson. By playing the Smith-Morra gambit, Michael Adams cleverly avoided William Watson's Sicilian dragon territory.

The game went:-

(290) Adams Michael - Watson William [B21/12]

 This game encapsulates the recommended "system" against this black 5..e6 line. This is:-

• To play 7. Bg5 against 6..Nge7. Bg5 is a very annoying pin which encourages a weakness in the black position. After f6, White should just retreat the bishop to e3 as in the Adams game.

• To play Na4-b6 given the opportunity to cripple Black's queenside counterplay.

Another (very short) example game, this time with British International master Michael basman:-

The 5..e6 line 3..dxc3 4 Nxc3 Nc6 5 Nf3 e6 6 Bc4 Bb4

B] 6... Bb4

This move pins the White knight, and black may later play Nf6 or Nge7.
The move is not played often probably because people are reluctant to exchange bishop for knight on c3. This has implications for White having strong pressure on the a3-f8 diagonal or along other dark square diagonals for that matter such as a1-g8.

This technical white paper recommends that White simply castles and then plays the natural looking Qe2 followed by Rd1. János Flesch played the following nice blindfold simultaneous game in this line:-

If he can beat his opponent blindfold in this line, then you have no excuse beating your opponent with it! Seriously though, this game shows that Black's strategy of exchanging the bishop for knight can have serious consequences for dark square control later.

The 5..e6 line 3..dxc3 4 Nxc3 Nc6 5 Nf3 e6 6 Bc4 Bc5

C] 6... Bc5

The aim of this move is to develop the bishop and only then play Nge7. The bishop can have a useful influence on the a7-g1 diagonal.

The 5..e6 line 3..dxc3 4 Nxc3 Nc6 5 Nf3 e6 6 Bc4 a6

C] 6... a6

6...a6 prevents the White possibility of Nb5, which can sometimes be very annoying on the dark squares c6 and d6. It is thus complementary move to e6, because e6 weakened the dark square d6.

It also prepares the black counterplay move b5 and the black queenside bishop can go to the natural square b7, hitting the White pawn on e4. Black can generate strong counterplay. For example take the following two games with well known black players:-

This technical white paper designed for club players recommends the simple move 7. a4:-

Example games with 7.a4

A little known player Corbin has played 7.a4 successfully in the following two games:-

Corbin,P (2215) - Guillen,J (2220) [B21]

1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 e6 6.Bc4 a6 7.a4 Nge7 8.Bg5 f6 9.Bh4 Ng6 10.Bg3 Be7 11.0–0 0–0 12.Rc1 Nge5 13.Ba2 Qe8 14.Nh4! 

This is a very nice move which features arguably a very important plan critical for the success of the Smith-Morra gambit- let us call it a "bayonet charge!". That plan is namely f4-f5, trying to intensify the pressure against the Black king, gaining space, and emphasing the bishop on c4.

Interlude: A Smith-Morra gambit position Tactical puzzle!

White to play!

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The 5..e6 line 3..dxc3 4 Nxc3 Nc6 5 Nf3 e6 6 Bc4 Nf6 (trap line)

Cunning black players have evolved a nasty trap for the Smith-Morra gambit, which the White player definitely needs to be aware of.

After the following moves:-

White has already gone wrong! The natural looking h3?? allows Nd4! :-

and it is 0-1

(hxg4 Nxe2+ ; Nxd4 Qh2 mate; Q anywhere, Nxf3+ anything xf3, Qh2 mate)

This couldn't happen you ask?

White's best move after Ng4 is g3

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The 5..g6 Line

Introduction

Black prepares to fianchetto his king's bishop in a dragon style formation. It does cost a little bit of time however to do this. This technical paper recommends a system where White can exploit Black's slow play with a cunning resource!

After 6 Bc4 and Bg7, instead of the routine castling move, White has the resource 7. e5! :-

The statistics in the PGN file in Appendix A, heavily favor the White player from the above position!

Greed line: 1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 g6 6.Bc4 Bg7 7.e5 Nxe5

After the greedy pawn snatch with Nxe5 Nxe5 Bxe5, white has Bxf7+! 

This has the game score 4-1 in favour of White in the pgn download file. The main point is that after Kxf7 Qd5+ Kg7 Qxe5+ Nf6 Qe3 White has a very powerful dark squared bishop and black's king safety is suspect. So much so that Moore (1986) continued in direct fashion with 13 h4:-

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1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 g6 6.Bc4 Bg7 7.e5 d6

d6 challenges White's agressive e5 pawn. White can however play the softening move Qb3 forcing e6. Then White can play Bg5 with a small but clear advantage.

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3..Nf6 (a fun spoiling attempt!)

With Nf6, White is not given the satisfaction of a lead in development and initiative. The gambit is not accepted. 

This transposes into c3 sicilian territory and is strictly outside the scope of this article. The White player needs to understand c3 sicilian lines! However this technical White paper recommends 4. e5 followed by 5.Nf3

Recent Example 1

[Event "III Arason It"]
[Site "Hafnarfjordur ICL"]
[Date "1997.??.??"]
[White "Hardarson, R"]
[Black "Ivanov, M"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2325"]
[BlackElo "2445"]
[ECO "B21"]
[Round "07"]

1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 Nf6 4. e5 Nd5 5. Nf3 e6 6. Bc4 Nb6 7. Bd3 Nc6 
8. cxd4 Nb4 9. Nc3 Nxd3+ 10. Qxd3 d5 11. Bg5 Qd7 12. O-O h6 13. Bh4 Nc4 14. b3 Na3 15. Nd2 b6 16. f4 a5 17. f5 Bb4 18. fxe6 Qxe6 19. Qf3 Bb7 20. Nc4 Nxc4 21. Nb5 Nxe5 22. dxe5 O-O 23. Bf6 Rfc8 24. Qg3 g6 25. Qh4 h5 26. Rf4 Bd2 27. Nd4 Be3+ 28. Kh1 Bxd4 29. Rxd4 Qf5 30. Rf4 Qc2 31. Rg1 d4 32. Qg5 Qd2 33. h3 Rc3 34. Kh2 Kh7 35. Be7 Bd5 36. Rxf7+ Bxf7 37. Qxd2 Rac8 38. Qxd4 Be6 39. Bg5 1-0

Recent Example 2

[Event "75th Ann."]
[Site "Asker NOR"]
[Date "1997.??.??"]
[White "Kristensen, B"]
[Black "Hellsten, J"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2430"]
[BlackElo "2495"]
[ECO "B21"]
[Round "03"]

1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 Nf6 4. e5 Nd5 5. Nf3 e6 6. cxd4 d6 7. Nc3 Nxc3 
8. bxc3 Qc7 9. Bd2 dxe5 10. Nxe5 Nd7 11. f4 g6 12. Bd3 Bg7 13. O-O O-O 14. Qg4 Re8 15. Rae1 Nf8 16. h4 Bd7 17. h5 Bc6 18. Re3 Rad8 19. hxg6 fxg6 20. Qe2 a6 21. Nxc6 Qxc6 22. Be4 Qc8 23. a4 Re7 24. Rb1 Rc7 25. Qf3 Qd7 26. Rb4 e5 27. fxe5 Ne6 28. Re1 Rf8 29. Qd1 a5 30. Rb5 Nxd4 31. cxd4 Qxd4+ 32. Kh1 Kh8 33. Bxa5 Qf2 34. Bf3 Rc4 35. Bg4 Rd4 36. Qe2 Qh4+ 37. Bh3 Rf2 38. Qe3 Bh6 39. Qc3 Rfd2 40. Rf1 Rc4 41. Rb4 Rdd4 42. Rxc4 Rxc4 43. Bd8 Qe4 44. Bf6+ Bg7 45. Qd2 g5 1-0

Why other plans are not chosen

e5 followed by Bc4 was not chosen because after 5.Bc4, black has the cunning resource Qc7. If then Bxd5, Qxe5+ regaining the bishop is absolutely fine for black. White can still win, but this will be despite the opening.

[Event "Komercni Banka Open"]
[Site "Pardubice CZE"]
[Date "1999.??.??"]
[White "Hedke, F"]
[Black "Kutuzovic, B"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2376"]
[BlackElo "2480"]
[ECO "B21"]
[Round "5"]

1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 Nf6 4. e5 Nd5 5. Bc4 Qc7 6. Qe2 Nb6 7. Bd3 Nc6 
8. Nf3 d5 9. exd6 Qxd6 10. Nxd4 g6 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. O-O Bg7 13. Bg5 h6 14. Bh4 Nd5 15. Bg3 Nf4 16. Qf3 e5 17. Bxf4 exf4 18. Re1+ Kf8 19. Na3 h5 20. Nb5 Bg4 21. Nxd6 Bxf3 22. gxf3 Rd8 23. Nxf7 Kxf7 24. Bc4+ Kf6 25. Re6+ Kg5 26. Rae1 Rd2 27. Kg2 Rb8 28. Kh3 Bf6 29. Rxc6 Rbxb2 30. Rg1+ Kf5 31. Rc5+ Be5 32. Re1 Rxf2 33. Rcxe5+ Kf6 34. Re6+ Kg7 35. R1e2 Rxf3+ 
36. Kg2 Rxe2+ 37. Kxf3 Rxh2 38. Bb3 Rh3+ 39. Kxf4 Rxc3 40. Ra6 Rc7 41. Bd5 Kh6 42. Be4 Rf7+ 
43. Kg3 1-0

The plan of cxd4 was not chosen, because Black can get a very pleasant position by simply fianchettoing his kings bishop, and having a comfortable square on d5 for the knight, e.g. the following game illustrates this:-

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Fun spoiler system with 3..d3

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Appendices

Appendix 1 - 2000 game PGN download

Smith-Morra PGN file (2000+ games) zipped

Do a search on Matulovic (a very strong exponent of this gambit) to see some crushing games!

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Appendix 2 - Gambit name origin

Where did the "Morra" and "Smith" come from in the Smith-Morra?

The "Smith" comes from Ken Smith, was a US master who unfortunately died in February 1999 (the year this technical paper was written). See Chess Digest page for information about him.

The "Morra" part comes from Pierre Morra, France (1900-1969)

It should also be noted that the formerly known "Morra Gambit" was also called the "Fleissig, Matulovic, Morphy or Rivadavia Gambit" (Source: Oxford companion to chess)

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Appendix 3 - Further reading

Amazon makes it possible to order chess books on-line, and even see other people's reviews of a book. The following books are of relevance to this technical White paper:-

For British readers: Amazon.co.uk:-

Trends in the Smith-Morra Gambit Vol 2 co-authored by Barnet Chess Club member Natasha Regan!, and WIM Susan Lalic

Winning with the Smith-Morra Gambit by Graham Burgess

For other readers: Amazon.com

Winning with the Smith-Morra Gambit by Graham Burgess

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